Plant Index

This plant index is a work in progress. The illustration is mine, so please give credit (name and website) if you choose to use it. Almost all the links on this page go to my archived site for now. As I update the articles and bring them over to my new site, you will not be redirected. But for now, this is how it is.

Welcome to the Temperate Climate Permaculture Plant Index! Plants are categorized by their place in the Forest Garden and then listed alphabetically by common name. Please check back often as a new species is researched and added to the listing on about a weekly basis. To find out a bit more about Edible Forest Gardens, click here, and for more information on the nine layers of the Forest Garden, click here.I am also including links to my specific use listings of plants here:

Canopy Layer

Typically over 30 feet (~9 meters) high. This layer is for larger Forest Gardens. Timber trees, large nut trees, and nitrogen-fixing trees are the typical trees in this category. There are a number of larger fruiting trees that can be used here as well depending on the species, varieties, and rootstocks used.

Subcanopy Layer

Typically 10-30 feet (3-9 meters) high. In most Forest Gardens, or at least those with limited space, these plants often make up the acting Canopy layer. The majority of fruit trees fall into this layer.

Herbaceous Layer

Plants in this layer die back to the ground every winter… if winters are cold enough, that is. They do not produce woody stems as the Shrub layer does. Many cullinary and medicinal herbs are in this layer. A large variety of other beneficial plants fall into this layer.

Groundcover Layer

There is some overlap with the Herbaceous layer and the Groundcover layer; however plant in this layer are often shade tolerant, grow much closer to the ground, grow densely to fill bare patches of soil, and often can tolerate some foot traffic.

Vining or Climber Layer

These vining and climbing plants span multiple layers depending on how they are trained or what they climb all on their own. They are a great way to add more productivity to a small space, but be warned. Trying to pick grapes that have climbed up a 60 foot Walnut Tree can be interesting to say the least.

Aquatic or Wetland Layer

These plants can live in moist to water-logged soils as well as entirely within water features (ponds, streams, etc.). The most productive plants for converting energy into plant matter can be found in this layer.

Mycelial or Fungal Layer

The fungal networks living within forest soils are nutrient and communication highways, and their health is inseparable to that of our Forest Garden. Unlike other soil life, we can sow, manage, and harvest products from fungus, and this layer will steadily increase in importance as our understanding of it grows.

Thanks for that huge amount of work -more organized than my scattered lists…

A thought that Thibault also mentions (first posting): Particularly for Europeans multilanguage names are important to find or order plants quickly :
I’ve been thinking of “botanic name, english, german, french and ev. spanish names”
For french/german PC-practitioners: For the participants of our “PERMATOURS” we consgtantly update (under “ressources”) a list of nurseries, companies and sources of seeds and plants.

Excellent plant list. It will be very important to develop the same for tropical climates. I am in Costa Rica and it will a great challenge to find the equivalent plants to implement the system locally. Thanks a lot.

Just found the website, very interesting to read. I am living at the west coast of Ireland and our biggest problem is the salty wind from the atlantic. It just burns young plants down. Any suggestions what is good to grow in coastal areas?

I am so thankful to find this wonderful site, I got bit by a Wolf spider and my herbalist told me about the Plantain plant to chew a leaf and place on bite to pull the poison out! I was amazed I have one growing in my yard, I am sure there are other edible plants out there this is the beginning of a wonderful adventure.

I have enjoyed all your work for years. I find your site more enjoyably readable than many other permaculture sites (not to mention your vlog!)
Though I don’t comment much, I really should more based on all I’ve enjoyed learning.
Keep up the awesome work!

In reading your list for the Canopy & Sub Canopy layers I didn’t see mango as a listed species. we live on the Evelyn Tablelands ( Sth West side of the Atherton Tablelands) & have rather large old fashioned Mangoes growing here. Temps range from high 40’s to – 8. These trees were planted in the 30/40’s and survive magnificently.

From The West Coast of South Africa where we are in a drought siege…..thank you for a down to earth site!
Different species here but your page provides a big boost to those who dare to dream.
We support a local ‘squatter’ community with veg from our organic garden….going now the permaculture way with great excitement and great results 1
Thanks so much

Hi
My question is about lotus plants
I have a farm with temperatures of 58 f night time and 75 to 80 f day time all year long
My question is
Can i grow the lotus there ?
Is the temperature ok for this plants ?
Thank you

I just bought a yellowhorn tree. I am a relative of Dr. David Grandison Fairchild who helped found this garden. He never went to the Continent of Antarctica. After Hurricane Andrew many changes in the Fairchild Gardens happened. I am also a Kudzu expert. http://www.fairchildgarden.org/about-fairchild/mission-history Jean Fairchild Gilmore wrote genealogies of the Fairchild family. She has 2 books with 600+ pages with the organization of the Fairchild relationships.

My favorite plant today is my lemon tree. The Flying Dragon is poncirus trifoliata. I found one at the Oakland Cemetery in Atlanta that is different from my variety. During the time of Katrina I went to houses and collected fruit for people who left Louisiana. They were getting packaged and processed foods. I thought it would be helpful to ask people with fig and pear trees to donate food. Many did. I picked mostly. Other people sometimes helped.

Kudzu is a superplant that is not toxic and has medicinal value. It is a palatable food.

Exactly what I need. Just bought 5 acres and building my nursery this winter. This spring will be collecting species, learning propogation and planting saplings from DNR for the reforested portion of the property! I needed just this list for my climate in Kentucky! Thank you very much.

Great list in progress! I like the one poster’s suggestion of a functionally sorted list.. but that is a different thing of course.

Also wanted to mention two more forest “layers”:
1. standing dead trees (niche for beneficial life)
2. fallen trees (containing more life per unit of space than a living tree! And niche for new plant growth that can’t survive deep leaf litter and fungi).

Another concept I would like to float out here would be an illustrated and figurative “mound”, placing forest garden species around it like the herb-spiral concept is meant to illustrate about microclimates.. this would be meant to assist a forest gardener/designer in choosing the best microclimates for our plants or vica-versa.

Just one mistake I spotted quickly, I’m assuming this is a temperate design? You had Pawpaw (Papaya for some) under the large shrub / dwarf tree category – for those who don’t already know, Pawpaw are Sub tropical / Tropical fruiting tree and won’t survive below zero temperatures.

I recently found this on another page.. For those in the USA… “USDA plants database gives information about the amount fixed about many, many species native and naturalized to the United States. Check out their advanced search page to select species for your area “.. You can specify nitrogen-fixing ability as a search criteria and it was very helpful..I also think an entry for Scottish Broom (Cytisus) would be good, it looks like a very useful plant.. Thanks for this great, informative site.